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Embalasasa:
The Colorful Lizard
By Linda A. Annan
Picture yourself walking through Uganda's Budongo forest, slowly, gently, almost drifting. You notice the sunlight filtering through the leaves above your head, and stop for a minute - taking in the beauty of Mother Nature, listening to wattle-eyes and African shrike-flycatchers chirping and perching on mahogany trees swaying from side to side…and then suddenly…oh, was that a tiny roar from a cub? Okay, that's where the imagination ends, that is, if you're not listening to Samite's latest album, Embalasasa, released by Triloka Records on February 26, 2006. An album whose rhythm he describes as very warm, soul-embracing, and enticing enough to make you dance.
Indeed, Embalasasa does touch the soul with its calm and gentle
rhythms. Think drums, flute, percussion, bass and mellow vocals delivered in his native tongue, Luganda, all working together harmoniously. The soft sounds from the drum beat of the first two tracks not only draw you into a temporary state of bliss but also soothes you . These tracks, however, speak of stories far from lullabies. Samite uses every bit of life experience in Uganda to either tell a moral story or a fun one, which has crowned him as an exceptional and talented artist. After 9 albums you would think he'd be short of stories to tell; surprisingly that has not been the case.
“Embalassa,” named after a colorful lizard that reared its head all over Uganda is the first track of the album recounting Samite's experience as a twelve-year-old living in the countryside. “Kakokolo” and “Olusoka,” remind you of frightening folktales you were told growing up in Africa. In the latter, a man who emerged from the center of the earth without disease or went back to his world to bring a bag of millet. When it was tim e for him to return, his brother followed, only to bring death a nd disease with him into the New World. Samite wrote nine out of the ten tracks of his album, excluding “Olusoka”(track two) and “We Can Do Better” (track six), which he co-wrote with David Cullen, a Grammy Award winner for Best Pop Instrumental Recording of the year. In this track, Samite shares an observation he made about interaction amongst children; they quickly made friends with each other without paying much attention to skin color. Samite tries to grasp and teach a lesson he feels we, as adults, can learn from children. "They do not use the difference in skin color to decide who their enemies are and they do not hate based on religion," he commented . In “Setula” (track ten), Samite shares his experience in the King's Courtyard where he fell in love with rhythms of the traditional music he
still plays today.
Although Samite resides in the United States, his heart sings out to his country folks. Like most foreign artists, he does sing about a beautiful attraction in Uganda, Lake Victoria, which is the world's largest tropical lake. Songs such as “Look for the Sunset” and “Olugendo” reflect on the pain and sorrow life throw our way in this odyssey, but then encourages us to keep going and keep our heads up. Samite sympathizes with all young soldiers sent to war in “Not Alone,” and then says, “we love you, we don't blame you. You are not alone.” Samite's latest CD can be purchased at all major retail stores.
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